Parents rail against twerking punishments

Parents, residents and lawyers urged the San Diego school board Tuesday to reconsider the suspensions and sexual harassment charges that were handed down to 31 students at Scripps Ranch High School for their role in the now-infamous “twerking” video that was posted on YouTube last month.

Speaking to trustees before they met behind closed doors to discuss the twerking discipline and other matters, the group accused the high school of overreacting to the situation. Some suggested that the San Diego Unified School District was more interested in backing up administrators than giving students their due process.

After the closed session, board President John Lee Evans said the trustees do not have the authority to overturn suspensions, only expulsions.

“What’s more important is students learn from this as they mature,” Evans said.

Trustee Scott Barnett said both students and administrators showed poor judgment. He suggested a compromise that the punishment could be altered by the school principal in return for an apology from the students.

Local attorney Ruth Hargrove, who represents one of the girls suspended, wants the sexual harassment violation expunged from her client’s record and an apology from the district.

“Sexual harassment is an incredibly serious charge to have on one’s record to follow to college,” she said. “It is conduct that is so pervasive and it is generally repeated and is so hostile that it generally interferes with the education of a student.”

Speakers expressed a range of emotions as they approached the school board. Some were in tears describing how their daughters have been humiliated, others expressed anger and outrage at what was described as a series of flawed decisions.

“This has been a nightmare for my daughter and my entire family,” said a parent, who spoke publicly but did not identify herself. “The video doesn’t represent what the girls though they were getting into by an stretch of the imagination.”

Twenty-eight girls participated in the video that was shot on campus with district equipment. Many of the girls were featured from behind showing off their twerking moves, popping their hips while crouching or doing handstands. The video was organized, executed and edited by three boys who set it to rap music that featured R-rated lyrics.

“When the boys returned to campus after their suspensions, they got a standing ovation,” said the mother of one of the suspended girls. “The girls have been treated very differently.” Some of the girls reportedly thought the video was a class project and were unaware it would be posted on YouTube. Their parents said they had participated in previous video projects that were featured on the campus TV station.

Furthermore, many of the girls had no idea twerking was not allowed on campus since the dance is common. One parent submitted a DVD to the school board that included footage of several events held at Scripps Ranch High that features students twerking — including a pep rally and a powder puff football game.

Superintendent Bill Kowba told San Diego school board members in a confidential memo earlier this month that he personally considers the video “a deeply offensive production with implications for lewd conduct, sexual harassment and gender victimization.”

A subsequent letter made public Tuesday from the Scripps Ranch High “counselors and counseling support staff” criticizes trustee Kevin Beiser for given them a “lack of support” that has hurt the school’s image.

“If you and the board do not support the school’s decision to suspend, then we believe you are sending the students a message that they do not have to follow rules and that whatever they put online is OK,” the staff said in the memo sent to Beiser.

The memo goes on to state that the video has created a “major disruption on our campus and community. We now have an administrative team and staff whose reputations have been compromised and damaged. …We hope very much you see our concerns and are planning to work with the school by supporting the appropriate actions taken by the administration and staff based on school and district policies.”

Six of the students involved in the video are 12th graders and some were told they could lose some of their “senior privileges,” such as participation in prom and commencement ceremony. Evans said they will be allowed to participate.